Swinney's USC comments could be a stroke of genius

CLEMSON – Thursday nights at Clemson are usually standard coach-speak fare, but this Thursday night gave the Clemson-South Carolina rivalry a shot in the arm.

Usually, Thursday nights are when Clemson head coach Dabo SwinneyDabo SwinneyHead CoachView Full Profile gives his weekly practice and injury report and some media are allowed to ask questions about that game in two days. Swinney answered the general questions about injuries and this week’s game against Virginia Tech, but it only took one question to set off World War III on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter and relevant team sites and their message boards.

You’ve seen the video. You’ve heard the audio. You’ve seen the quotes.

There are those that will say that Swinney is a genius and his comments finally show that Clemson’s head coach has a little fire to him.

Others will say that his quotes were ill-timed and ill-advised, especially coming just a few days shy of a week since his team was beaten by South Carolina in Columbia.

Others will say that talk is cheap. Just win.

What Swinney said, however, may be looked at late Saturday night and early Sunday as a stroke of genius, because what he did was take all of the attention and pressure off of his beleaguered football team – the players and the coaches – and put the onus squarely on his shoulders, right where it belongs.

Tomorrow’s press conferences in Charlotte will undoubtedly start with reporters asking about the rant, and he will either answer or he won’t, but regardless of how he chooses to handle that situation, his team now goes into Saturday knowing that their head coach has their back.

Many Clemson fans wondered a week ago whether Swinney actually realized the depth of passion that this rivalry entails. He does now, and those fans got their answer tonight. Clemson has dominated this rivalry, and that is without question. And for many Clemson fans, beating South Carolina became routine. Swinney has said that it is just one game of 12 or 13. The luster – in some Clemson circles – has fallen off.

Not now. Three straight defeats by a 97-37 margin and a little grandstanding by the coaches has made sure that the next 359 days or so will be very interesting.

And if, by some stretch of the imagination his team is able to go into Bank of America Stadium with a renewed enthusiasm and pull of the win and earn a BCS Bowl berth, Swinney’s move might be regarded by the naysayers in a far different light.

And on a side note, one interested observer of all this mess could be Clemson basketball coach Brad BrownellBrad BrownellHead CoachView Full Profile, who has already asked for Littlejohn Coliseum to be full Sunday afternoon when his Tigers host South Carolina. He might have preferred Swinney not say anything. Now, he might have that big crowd and a rival out for blood. No matter what happens, it’s good theater and fun for all.